Chinese ships were spotted near Pagasa Island in the West Philippine Sea: 45 ships last week, three maritime vessels on Tuesday, and a group of Chinese coast guards on Saturday.
National Task Force on the West Philippine Sea said that the 45 ships that are seen on the waters are the highest number so far this year. It is also way higher than the average number of spotted vessels, which is below 20.
Last November 16, DFA Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. reported that three China Coast Guard vessels attacked two Philippine boats using water cannons on Ayungin Shoal.
Zhao Lijan, the Foreign Ministry Spokesperson of China, defended that the act was done because Philippine vessels passed the Chinese waters without permission. He added that this is a way to protect China’s sovereignty “in accordance to law.” Despite the incident, the Philippines still pledged to bring supplies to the troops stationed in the West Philippine Sea.
Moreover, the United States of America showed support to the Philippines amid the illegal action of China.
The West Philippine Sea has overlapping territorial claims among the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, Taiwan, and China due to being rich in resources.
The Ayungin incident will be the background of the participation of the Philippines in the ASEAN-China Special Summit that President Rodrigo Duterte will attend on November 22, Monday. This will commemorate the 30th year of dialogue relations between China and the other southeast Asian nations.
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